RHI Statement
We at the ARC Healthy Living Centre are delivering needs based services to vulnerable people and are constantly struggling to meet our running costs. We need to maintain constant temperatures in our buildings to suit or service users, primarily babies and young children in our new build and adults with long term conditions in our original build.
Recognising that we had to manage our heat demand into the future, In late 2014 we chose to move to a bio mass system, as a long term outcome to reduce our costs and reduce our carbon footprint. The move to renewable energy was based on more than financial assumptions, we were committed to protecting our environment and to move away from harmful fossil fuels. Wood fuel is a ‘low carbon’ fuel that produces a fraction of the emissions of fossil fuels. The critical difference between biomass fuels and fossil fuels is the type of carbon emitted: biomass fuel releases contemporary carbon, whereas fossil fuel releases fossilized carbon. In addition to the environmental reasons practically we were a hostage to fluctuating oil prices and as with most households and businesses locally when oil prices were high we were subject to oil theft.
In February 2015 we went out to tender for suitable installers and in June 2015 we had the new system fitted and commissioned. The installation of the biomass boiler was prompted by the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) the RHI aimed to encourage organisations to generate heat from renewable technologies. The RHI pays participants of the scheme for generating renewable heat and using it in their buildings and processes. Proving that the ARC meet the requirements of the RHI was based on the establishment of facts and evidence, eligible heat output has to be determined and verified. On 31st August 2015 we obtained RHI accreditation.
The RHI on our new system will not cover installation costs for many years, used ethically and correctly this system does not generate huge financial gains. Our buildings have heat management systems and climate controls so therefore cannot be over heated. With the new system we have in fact reduced our heat demand, continued, maintained underfloor heating run from our bio mass system has avoided the continual rationing and subsequent boosting that rendered our previous oil system so inefficient, and supplementary heaters are now seldom required. We welcome the media and public interest in this story, and ARC is happy to comply with any additional inspection or monitoring that is introduced as a result of the current publicity in around the RHI scheme.
